Since World War II, tactical camouflage, concealment and deception designers have been forced to create solutions that addressed more than the visible spectrum of detection. This evolution is a result of increasingly sensitive sensor devices and technologies that have been developed over time. These sensor devices have included such divergent means as: enhanced optical range through advanced visual scopes, radar, night vision, and thermal imagery detection. Further, advances have led to technologies like forward looking infrared (“FLIR”) imaging technology and shortwave infrared (“SWIR”) sensing technologies that make invisible spectrum detection even better. Technologies and products are now merging these various sensor technologies together.
Today virtually every nation and many non-state military organizations have access to advanced tactical sensors for target acquisition (radar and thermal imagers) and intelligence gathering surveillance systems (ground and air reconnaissance). Precision-guided munitions exist that can be delivered by artillery, missiles, and aircraft and that can operate in the IR region of the electromagnetic spectrum. These capabilities are available through internal manufacturing or purchase on the world market. These advanced imaging sights and sensors allow enemies to acquire and engage targets through visual smoke, at night, and under adverse weather conditions.
To combat these new sensing and detection technologies, camouflage paint, paint additives, tarps, nets and foams have been developed for visual camouflage and thermal and radar signature suppression.
Paint and paint additives by themselves do not appear to be to provide a desired level of visual camouflage and thermal and radar signature suppression. For example, paint has proven inadequate for rendering highly detailed or complex camouflage patterns in use today, such as ACU and MARPAT, quickly and efficiently. Advanced paint additives and coatings seemed promising, but have unforeseen logistical issues. While it appears that chemical agent resistant coating (“CARC”) paint is the ideal paint for camouflage and chemical protection, it is important to realize that it directly contributes to the problem. Several disadvantages are obvious when using CARC paint. CARC paint is considered environmentally hazardous, and its application requires Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) approved safety equipment and facilities.
The EPA regulations restrict the use of CARC to one quart per site per day. Only approved facilities, such as depot-level maintenance facilities can dispense CARC in volume. This restriction on volume painting is attributed to the amount of volatile organic compounds released into the atmosphere when spraying. Further, CARC is expensive and has a limited shelf life. In fact, CARC is approximately four times more expensive than a low emission alkyd or polyurethane paint. Thus, from the bottle-necking that occurred in CARC paint facilities to EPA issues that make it problematic to repair without extensive costs to specialized equipment and facilities that are needed to the limited effectiveness against detection from the advanced technologies mentioned above, paints have proven to not be very effective.
Tarps and nets can provide separation between the vehicles being hidden and the point of observation of the detection systems used. Tarps and nets can suppress thermal signature as well as signals detected by radar. However, both tarps and nets can be heavy and cumbersome to use. They can thus interfere with mobility.
The use of foam appears to have promise regarding thermal and radar suppression. However, in the past, foam has been hard to effectively use in such camouflage, concealment or deception applications because the foam was not functional in terms of visual camouflage.